Design, Printing and Marketing News, Tips and Tricks

What is Silk Lamination?

Whenever we hear the word “lamination,” it takes us back to our grade school days when teachers would hand us shiny plastic coated hall passes that gave us the privilege to roam (very, very slowly) to the restroom, the library, or to sleep our way through geometry on the yucky pleather cot in the nurse’s office. But lamination has come along way. These days, there are lamination processes that make those air-bubble ridden hall passes look like they came out of another century. (Then again, they kind of did.)

One such process that produces a particularly striking effect is called silk lamination. Silk lamination uses the same basic principles as traditional lamination – coating an otherwise standard paper product with a layer of plastic to render it stronger, more water resistant, and more attractive. But there are two things that set the silk lamination process apart. The first is the unique and desirable finish it creates. The second is the quality and strength of the bond that is created between the paper product and the plastic layers that coat the paper’s surfaces.

Instead of a shiny, bubbly layer, with silk lamination, the printer achieves a finish that is uniform, subtly textured, and that mimics the appearance of silk or another fine fabric. This remarkable surface is achieved with the use of a mechanized process. In this process, the printer takes two or more layers of material and unites them as one, using heat, pressure and sometimes an adhesive. With silk lamination, the laminates are a brushed plastic. This material is neither 100 percent shiny nor 100 percent matte, but reflects light in the way that fine silk does. The feel of the material is smooth and, well, silky, giving any silk laminated materials a classy look and texture. For this reason, we sometimes refer to silk laminated business cards as the “tuxedos” of the business card world.

As with any lamination, silk lamination protects card stocks (postcards, business cards, flyers) from creases, sun damage, stains, smudges, fingerprints, tears, rips, scratches, and occasional thunderstorms and even hurricanes. In other words, the process not only makes business cards and flyers look good – it also renders them nearly disaster proof. This is always an advantage for those who like to carry their business cards in their purse, wallets, or pockets, as it prevents these cards from looking like they were just wrangled out of the wreckage of an atomic bomb. First impressions are pretty important, and handing someone a sloppy-looking business card is never a good idea. Silk lamination makes this possibility a non-concern.

Silk lamination is an affordable way to add both beauty and strength to the materials that represent your business. It ensures that your cards and flyers will look good in the consumer’s hand long after you’ve handed your collaterals out. And representing yourself with silk laminated materials conveys the sense that you pay attention to detail – a quality that most picky consumers value very highly.

Terrell is a professional with years of experience in marketing, and management. At EliteFlyers.com he handles content curation among many other responsibilities including customer service, business development and other administrative functions.

When it comes to selecting a business card, the first thing that comes to mind is how to best portray your business and leave a lasting impression of your name and company. It is important to make a g…